The Last Warrior
by EmpressOrientation
Summary: The time of war is coming. Afraid of the unknown disease that's spreading like wildfire people have become edgy and more and more fights can be seen on every corner. Will the few brave people left be enough to protect the world from self-destruction?
1. Chapter 1

**I**

In one of the Earth's deepest caves, which have never been found by a living being from the Surface, sat a young girl watching the scene before her with close attention. Shadows of human figures moved in a pond filled with beautiful green-shaded hazy smoke, the colors that were exact match to the girl's eyes.

According to the scene in the pond a war was raging on the Surface. The girl's eyes were filled with sadness as she saw innocent men and women fall as casualties of mindless crimes. Nothing has changed.

"They need your help, Nian." A powerful, deep female voice resounded through the cave, reverberating off its walls. The shadows in the pond slowly faded away and the pond stirred, moving as if it was alive. A liquid wave shot upwards remaining in that gravity defining position in a form of a woman. She looked at the girl.

"I tried once before, remember?" The girl's voice came in gentle tones as she searched the woman's face. "This world's heart won't heal."

"It is your choice, my child. It always has been." The shining liquid figure said and then burst into thousands of water drops falling back into the pond. Its surface kept quivering as if some inner turmoil could not give it peace and occasionally images of battle flashed across it darkly.

The girl sat deep in thought. It wasn't an easy decision to make; to rest in the soothing tranquility of the caves, or leave them and fight yet another war, bleed for yet another world? She was tired of battles and sadness and death. But she could not turn her back to those who needed help. The decision was made.

Cloud stood leaning against his beloved motorcycle, staring out into the distance from the Edge. The annoying throbbing in his arm constantly reminded him of the disease there was no known cure for. He has told nobody about it. He didn't want them to catch the unmistakable tone of his voice that would give out how little he really cared if he died.

Occasional, unexpected surges of pain that shot through his arm brought up unwanted flashbacks from his past, making his spirits fall even more. His past - another thing people knew little about, and he intended to keep it that way. For a long time it had been lost even for him, and now he wished it was still so.

His strange, bright blue eyes - mako eyes - held no emotion as he stared ahead, his expression solemn, but his heart was sad. It could hear the cries of people throughout the world, people who were dying just like him.

Ever since his dead body was brought back to life and submitted to a number of experiments, Cloud had powers that even scientists who created them knew nothing about. He hated himself for what he became, even though it had once helped him save the world.

Something shook him out of these dark thoughts. It started as a slight shiver of the ground below his feet, but soon it seemed as if it was coming from inside his own body. The shivers started around his heart and then, following the nerves, coursed through his entire body. It was a surge of energy unlike any other he felt before. At first gentle quivers now started to hurt him. He felt as if his nerves were being lit on fire and then ripped, out one by one.

The pain was too much. He fell to his knees, scarcely aware of the world around him. A moment before he lost consciousness, all he could see was shades of green light.


	2. Chapter 2

**II**

Cloud blinked a few times, his eyes adjusting to the bright light. How he always managed to end up back in the Church was beyond him. He was lying on his back beside a water-filled pool, in the exact same position he woke up in, staring at the ceiling for a while before he finally slowly turned his head to the left. Fenrir was right there.

Did he drive here himself? All he could remember were shades of green light. His arm still throbbed with a defeating persistency.

* * *

"So, what do you think the tremor was?" Cid questioned staring as Yuffie carelessly threw another card on the table. How could she win every single game?

"Give it up, Cid. It was just an earthquake."

"No, I felt it in my nerves, that can't be norm-!" He didn't get to finish as Barret's phone suddenly rang. He answered, getting off his chair and making a few unconscious steps.

He was silent for a moment, then: "Tifa? What-" More silence disturbed only by Yuffie's triumphant shout and the shuffle of money as she drew it to her chest. "Alright, wait for me. I'll be there in a few minutes." Barret said into the phone and then hung up. Cid and Yuffie didn't even notice the door shut when Barret left; the game before them was too distracting.

* * *

Pulling over Barret stared down the alleyway through the window before he switched the engine off and got out. Tifa was waiting for him, a worried look on her kind face.

A girl was lying on the ground right beside her, her wavy brown hair spread around her like some sort of a weird halo. Her beautiful, slightly freckled face was so peaceful that Barret would, if he didn't already know Tifa had tried to wake her up, think she was simply asleep. She seemed really young... Twenty, perhaps?

"What have you got here?" Barret questioned, stopping at Tiffa's side.

"Already told you on the phone," Tifa replied, "I don't want to just leave her here like that!" Her voice was full of worry and impatience.

"Do you know her?"

"Is this the person you've become, Barret? You have to know somebody to give them a hand?"

"No, but Tifa we know nothing about her, she might be dangerous. She could be a murderer for all we know."

"Which one of us isn't?" Tifa muttered bitterly under her breath. "Does she look evil to you, Barret?" She asked, looking up at him with a slight frown on her face.

"No. But I still don't think taking her to the bar is a smart idea. It's our safe place..." He trailed off.

"And now it's going to be hers, too. She looks like she needs it." When he didn't respond she made an impatient sound and snapped at him: "Would you just help me carry her inside, please?"

Tifa's voice sounded unusually irritated. She was not one of those people to easily lose patience, which was a signal for Barret to shut up and do whatever she asked of him. He picked up the girl and carried her to the buggy he arrived in.

_For the sake of us all... I hope we're not making a horrible mistake,_ he thought, but didn't dare to voice it out loud.

* * *

Something wet trickled down the side of her face when a soaked material was pressed against her forehead. Her eyes fluttered open, but being blinded by the bright sun she quickly closed them as sharp pain shot through her head.

The feeling of someone touching her forearm instantly awoke her normally alert instincts, warning her of possible danger. She jumped to her feet in panic, tackling someone to the ground on the way up. Upon turning around her eyes locked with calm, dark brown stare of another girl, who raised her hands in a reassuring manner.

"I won't hurt you," she said gently. "I was simply taking care of your wound. Look..." Tifa pointed a finger at the mirror behind the girl and then watched as she swiftly turned around and then paused, taking her own appearance in with such close attention as if it were for the first time.

_She must have been traveling around a lot_, Tifa thought as she, too, looked at the girl. Beige colored pants were tucked carelessly into worn leather boots and the light jacket she wore allowed her to move without any restraint. _Very useful in fights, too,_ the thought hadn't escaped Tifa.

Barret's cautious words echoed in her mind, and a slight frown creased her forehead as she remembered how little she really knew about the girl's intentions.

Suddenly, she noticed that the girl's strange green eyes had stopped moving and were transfixed by an unusual medallion around her neck. It depicted a beast surrounded by a dozen of mystical symbols, none of which meant anything to Tifa.

Finally, the girl's stare shifted away from it and fell on a deep gash on her forehead.

_It really had been taken care of_, she thought and felt herself relax. So the dark-eyed girl hadn't been lying - she wanted nothing but to help, but uncertainty and worry now clouded her mind. She didn't need to look at the dark girl to see that - it lingered around her like a rainy cloud.

* * *

"Thank you." Tifa was taken aback when the girl suddenly spoke up in a deep, melodic voice. She stared at Tifa in such a calm way that she felt her worry disperse.

"Oh, you're welcome." Tifa quickly replied. "If you allow me, I would like to finish cleaning that cut for you." The girl sat back on the bed without a word. "So, um... what's your name?" Tifa tried initiating a conversation to loosen up the somewhat tense atmosphere.

"My real name was lost in the depths of time many a year ago," the girl spoke in her clear, mysterious voice that kept making the nerves in Tifa's body tingle slightly, "but I am now known as Nian."

"Nian," Tifa repeated and had the strangest feeling of confusion of why she hadn't known that in the first place - so well did the name fit. "I'm Tifa," she told her. "So how did you get this nasty thing on your forehead?" She probed jokingly, but the girl didn't answer, her bright green eyes clouding over slightly, and becoming a shade darker.

So many things were lost to her and yet bits and fragments seemed to be coming back.

Unlike the peace she radiated on the surface, inside, her thoughts and memories were distorted and mixed in such a jumbled mess that she was unable to decipher anything coherent from it; hence the fact that she was not able remember who she was.

But her cautious nature stopped her from showing any of this to strangers, though not even she was quite sure what she feared.

All she felt with startling clarity was the need to protect the inhabitants of this world, though she knew not which world it was, and she had a feeling it was not by accident she was aided by this girl.

But despite the fact she pushed all of this deep down, Tifa must have noticed a hidden turmoil in her eyes because she spoke hurriedly: "It's ok. You don't have to tell me."

"It is not what you think."

Tifa heard the girl respond distantly, but the silence that followed showed her that no further explanation would be given. Not yet at least. And strangely enough, she was okay with that.


	3. Chapter 3

**III**

Cloud parked his motorcycle in front of the bar and glanced up at the illuminated window for a moment before dismounting. He wasn't really planning on telling anyone about what had happened earlier that day. In fact, the main purpose of his visit was to take his mind off of it for a while.

It wasn't that he didn't trust his friends... He simply didn't think he should burden them with even more worry. Especially because he understood absolutely nothing of what had occurred.

He pushed the door ajar and, cautious as always, surveyed the room before quietly slipping in. Barret and Cid appeared to be in a slightly heated discussion, a few empty glasses on the table in front of them. Yuffie and Tifa were nowhere in sight.

Cloud sighed and an oddly lethargic feeling overtook him. He really wasn't up for a discussion; especially when he heard words such as tremors and earthquake being mentioned. Talking about something he believed to be connected to what had happened earlier was very unlikely to help him forget about it. In fact, when he gave it more thought, he wasn't _up_ for _anything _at all. If only he could just forget about everything and drift away...

Like a shadow, he proceeded up the stairs to his room, making no sound at all, and the two men remained oblivious to his silent entry. However, no matter how much he wished for it, he was not destined to have much rest that night.

As soon as he stepped foot into the dark hallway leading to his bedroom Cloud's sensitive ears caught a new set of hushed voices - feminine, this time around. Surprised to find one of them unfamiliar he halted in his step in front of Tifa's door, tensing for no apparent reason.

Tifa's short, chipper laughter filled the quiet hallway.

And then, without any warning, the door unexpectedly burst open, making Cloud take a stunned step back. He could hardly remember a time when something could escape his always alert senses to the point that it could startle him. And now he hadn't even noticed the doorknob turn.

He glanced up expecting to see Tifa, but instead his light eyes clashed against the strangest, unpleasantly familiar shades of green. A grave expression sealed his features as his hand instinctively gripped the pommel of his sword. The now recognizable tingle in his nerves - which, he realized, was what made him tense - erupted again, but this time it was neither painful nor unsettling; instead, it appeared to be trying to calm him.

He pulled the sword slightly out of its sheath.

* * *

"Cloud! You're back!" A joyous shout escaped Tifa as she ran up to hug him; but he didn't spare her a glance. He seemed unable to shift his eyes from Nian's pinning gaze. "Oh," Tifa said following his stare. For a moment she forgot all about the girl, she was so happy to see him again. "This is Nian." She announced.

His jaw clenched, Tifa noted with surprise. Other than that, he remained completely still, in a suspiciously tense pose, with a cautious, mistrustful look. The girl on the other hand, seemed unfazed by his penetrating gaze, opposing him with remarkable calmness, her expression unreadable.

"_Cloud_!" Tifa whispered harshly into his ear. She was really starting to get annoyed. Have her friends lost _all_ regard of other people's emotions? "Won't you at least _try_ and be polite?!"

No response. The weird staring contest continued. Tifa didn't know exactly what was going on but she was not sure she could take much more of it. As if sensing her weariness the girl's eyes suddenly washed over her and Nian spoke, breaking the intense silence:

"Darkness weighs too heavy and the cries grow too loud for him to spare energy on trivial things such as hiding his emotions. Let him act as he feels right."

Utter bafflement on Tifa's face spoke for itself.

"He is in no mood for surprises," Nian elaborated patiently. Not that it made things clearer for Tifa... Then Nian's gaze was back upon Cloud. "He wants nothing more than to," she paused, "drift away." This time, she actually sounded smug.

"How do you-" Tifa trailed off staring at Nian wide-eyed.

A new kind of silence stretched on.

"I'm not sure," she admitted finally.

By then Cloud had taken out his sword, keeping it pressed against his leg. He would not let himself be so easily distracted. One sudden movement - that was all it would take. _One_ sudden move from her.

* * *

Nian considered her options while the possible escape routes spread quickly in her mind. She needed to have a way out prepared in case the man before her decided to use the blade he was clutching at his side.

She knew now that surprising him by flinging the door open in such an abrupt manner was a bad mistake, but her reflexes took the better of her and she found herself unable to stop her feet from making the few inaudible steps and her hand from turning the knob.

His reaction, the strong feeling of endangerment, was alarming. It disturbed her to some extent to find that she was able to read some emotions and extract pictures from people's minds. And yet, _something_ drove her to make that remark about his recent thoughts, as unwise as it was.

The air was still. Downstairs, her sensitive hearing was catching a slightly drunk but still friendly argument of two men. Nian focused. Tifa was confused, though that could easily be read from her face as well. She was also annoyed, and upset. He on the other hand, was impossible to read. As if he had sealed all his emotions and thoughts after her incriminating statement. But there was one thing she knew with certainty - he was a single step from shooting her dead.

She questioned her escape routes once more and, as her mind wandered off to find something helpful, she unexpectedly became aware of the cold metal of a weapon inside her jacket. A weapon she was sure she knew how to use with deadly efficiency.


	4. Chapter 4

**IV**

_Do something!_ Tifa's mind screamed as anxiety clutched her heart, her eyes flying from one face to the other. Cloud's open hostility had awoken something in Nian; her entire demeanor had changed from a curious, inquisitive cub to a hungry lioness one step away from its prey. Her hand disappeared in her jacket.

The glares between the two had become lethal.

_Anything! Just do it fast! _Tifa's mind pressured and the shout escaped her before she could realize:

"Cloud!"

Helpless panic imbedded in that single word had more effect that she could have dared to wish for - the wall of tension between them had shattered like glass. Slowly, two frighteningly similar questioning gazes were upon her.

"Please, Cloud, I need to talk to you", Tifa had placed a gentle hand on his, loosening his grip around the sword. For a few moments he stalled, uncertain of what to do and Nian stood impossibly still, waiting. Finally, he shifted relaxing for just a smallest bit, but it was enough. "Nian, would you wait in my room?" Tifa spoke again, the plea in her eyes. "I'll return in a few minutes, I promise."

The girl stared at her expressionlessly for a couple of seconds and then, with a quick, affirmative nod, took a hasty step backward and closed the door. At the precisely same moment the two girls let out an identical sigh of relief.

While Tifa was ushering Cloud toward his room intent on setting some things straight Nian leaned forth and pressed her forehead against the door, the dull, unthreatening, wooden surface quite calming after the intensity of people behind it.

Pictures that flashed before her eyes as soon as she closed them did not come as a surprise.

Yes, she knew exactly how to put the weapon inside her jacket to use. Someone had once taught her how to attack and repel an attacker; forced her to jump and dodge and run and flip and turn, sharpening her senses and reflexes until they were barely human's anymore. He taught her to make anything into a weapon and use it with lethal accuracy; taught her to become a shadow and how to disappear.

Indeed, she had mastered that skill so well that she didn't seem able to find herself anymore...

Suddenly, Nian became aware of exhaustion sweeping over her body, almost as if it had been waiting for the opportune moment to make its presence known. She was tired, she realized. She really was tired of it all.

* * *

She was running wildly, stumbling across uneven ground, not daring to look down in fear that it wasn't ground she was stumbling over, but corpses - an endless field of mutilated, human corpses.

Constant explosions sent dirt flying all around her and unearthly screams filled her tortured hearing senses. Blinded and deafened she ran on and on, faster and faster, hurrying to reach somebody, someone who was out there, hurt and all alone, in desperate need of her help.

Coughs rattled her body, her breathing was ragged, and pain ripped through her chest, but she went on. Just as a familiar, human-shaped form lying helplessly on the ground entered her sight through all the smoke and fire, a deadly noise roared through the filthy air.

She halted the wild sprint. Her brain couldn't register the pain anymore. She blinked to clear her sight while the sticky crimson liquid tickled from her earlobes, unnoticed. With the sound turned down the fading world surrounding her seemed almost surreal.

Painstakingly slow, she looked down. Her vision was filled with rivers of blood. There was no salvation; only death. Far, far in the distance a voice was calling out to her. But it was so, so far away...

* * *

"**Nian**!"

The shout startled her awake. The visions from the dream were so vivid in her mind that it took her a few moments to notice the three pairs of eyes full of questions trained attentively on her pale face.

"Are you alright?" Tifa broke the silence, lowering herself on the bed beside her.

"Yes", Nian replied albeit reluctantly and sat up. "I must have dosed off."

"Not quite what you'd call a peaceful slumber though was it?"

She glanced up at the brown-haired stranger for a second, thinking about the suggestive tone he colored the sentence with. They must have been expecting some kind of an explanation, but, although grateful, she didn't feel in any way obligated to give them one.

"I fear my past might have a slight tendency to haunt me", she said calmly, a small smile twitching the corners of her lips, hoping that her tone had made it clear enough that she did not want to discuss the matter further.

It must have because, when she fell quiet, a wave of silence bearing hesitance and uncertainty washed over them. Finally, someone cleared their throat unobtrusively. Nian locked eyes with the icy pools of blue for the second time that day. Still mistrustful, she observed, but softer.

"Maybe... I overreacted earlier. Your eyes... They reminded me of something disconcerting... It caught me off guard", he stopped abruptly, his eyes flickering to Tifa as if seeking for approval.

"I think we were _all_ off to a bad start", she offered casting a single, slightly scornful glance his way, probably figuring it was the closest to apology as it could get. "So, can we _try_ and forget about it? Nian," she turned to look at her, "this is Cloud..." She gestured with one hand. "And that's Cid... They're my friends", she added as an afterthought.

Nian found herself focusing and tried not to stare into Tifa's eyes too intently. The brown-haired girl was yearning for a truce, concerned, nervous... dissatisfied? But the last bit's source lay elsewhere, deeper, and Nian decided it was none of her business.

"The fault was mine", she stated simply. "I'm afraid I hadn't at all returned the kindness you've showed me", she lowered her eyes feeling genuine regret. "Instead I've upset you, for which I am sorry. It would be for the best if I left... at once."

She couldn't quite understand why she suddenly felt the need to be anywhere else but in that room, under the sharp scrutiny of a certain pair of blue eyes.

"Do you even have a place to go?" Tifa inquired and, strangely enough, Nian could not get the lie pass her lips.

"I... I'll manage."

"Thought so," Tifa muttered quietly. "Listen... We've been talking..." She exchanged a quick look with the two men and Nian's eyes narrowed cautiously. "... And we came to a conclusion that it would be unfair and heartless to simply throw you out on the street like that."

"But, you've done more than you had to already. Besides, I'm quite fine." Her fingers unconsciously touched the deep cut on her forehead.

"I don't think Tifa was referring to your physical state," Cid clarified. "It's a dangerous city out there; especially for a young girl such as yourself."

"I can fend for myself."

She sounded confident but Tifa wouldn't give up: "Maybe you can, but _I_ wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing I had let you go!" She insisted stubbornly.

Doubt sneaked into Nian's mind. Were they offering her to stay? She was certain she had concealed the memory-loss well, but apparently they still noticed something was amiss. A bed to spend the night in was awfully tempting at this point, but the very thought of being a burden...

"You would not be a burden."

Cloud's sudden statement startled her so much that she nearly choked on her breath.

How did he-

"We assumed such a thought might cross your mind," Cid explained, "so we found a solution."

Nian stared at him genuinely surprised. They thought about her reaction? _And_ came up with a solution?

"You can pay for your stay here by helping me out in the bar downstairs", Tifa chimed in unable to keep quiet smiling with such a childish excitement in her eyes that Nian couldn't resist a smile herself. "I need a little rest from the customers once in a while."

For a moment they all fell quiet, each left with their own thoughts. Tifa stared at the girl unable to read her expression wondering what went on behind those turbulent green eyes of hers.

Her suggestion to offer Nian a place to stay was met with understandable reluctance and reservation among her friends, but her reasons won out. It was perfect, really, she thought with satisfaction. If she just gave the girl some trust, she wouldn't have to spend hours in the bar all alone. True, she knew almost nothing about her, but Tifa had a strong feeling it was the right thing to do. All Nian needed to do was say yes.

As if on cue, she spoke up. "Are you sure?"

Tifa's face lit up in a smile. _Yes! _Her mind squeaked triumphantly, but she let Cid say the word out loud. Cloud still seemed to be lost in thought, a contemplative, but not unfriendly stare resting quietly on Nian.


End file.
